ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Brandon Drury homered twice with five RBIs and the Los Angeles Angels stopped a six-game skid by beating the AL wild card-leading Tampa Bay Rays 8–3 on Wednesday night, September 20.
Tampa Bay remained 2 1/2 games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East.
“We were watching the game earlier,” Rays catcher Christian Bethancourt said of the Orioles' 2–1 loss at Houston. “The situation that we are in, knowing that they lost, we just didn't take advantage of the situation.”
Drury hit a three-run drive off Aaron Civale (7–5) during a four-run second that put the Angels ahead 6–0. He made it 8–1 on his 23rd homer, a two-run drive in the sixth against Erasmo Ramírez.
“Pretty impressive,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “He can really hit.”
Los Angeles had been outscored 38–13 during its skid.
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The teams combined to strike out 30 times, including 19 by Los Angeles batters. The Angels' Jo Adell fanned four times, and four teammates struck out three at-bats each.
“If we're going to score eight, we'll take the 19, I guess,” Nevin said with a smile. “It wasn't exactly pretty, but we got it done.”
The 19 strikeouts tied the Rays' record for a nine-inning game.
Civale allowed six runs and seven hits over three innings. Since being acquired from Cleveland on July 31, he is 2–2 and has lasted 5 1/3 innings or fewer in eight of nine outings.
Reid Detmers. who missed his scheduled start Sunday due to illness, lasted just four innings despite being staked to a six-run lead. The lefty allowed one run, three hits and two walks but struggled with his command and threw 96 pitches. He did hold the Rays to 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Tampa Bay converted 2 of 16 chances with runners in scoring position overall.
Issac Paredes had a third-inning RBI single off Detmers, who had a no-hitter in his only other start against the Rays on May 10 last year.
Yandy Díaz cut the deficit to 8–3 when he flared a two-run double down the right-field line in the sixth off Andrew Wantz (2–0). Díaz went 1 for 4 , dropping his average to .322.
Tampa Bay’s Luke Raley will have an MRI exam Thursday on his left arm following a swing while pinch-hitting in the seventh.
“My left arm just kind of went numb,” Raley said. “So, Just kind of had dead arm. We’re going try to get figured out. It’s not super painful. It’s just I feel like I have no strength.”
Raley sat out the previous three games due to neck stiffness.
Rays reliever Jake Diekman wore a Nebraska football helmet in the outfield during a pregame pitcher strength drill that involved catching a football while running pass patterns. Diekman is from Wymore, Nebraska.
Los Angeles 1B Nolan Schanuel singled in the first to reach base in 24 straight games starting his career. It is the longest streak since current Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli had a 24-game run in 2003 with the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
